APRIL 1995 BACK ISSUE

Part of Horse Previews Magazine website. Posted on 4/1/95; 10:00:00 AM.

The Polish Arabian

Arabian horses have been bred in Poland since the mid Sixteenth Century. During the Turkish wars purebred Arabs of Eastern origin were captured by the Poles. Subsequently, Polish breeders imported more Eastern stock. Over the years exported Polish Arabs have had a profound effect on other Arab breeding countries.

With the exception of some breeding lately, which appears to be directed at the American market, the Polish stud farms have operated over the years with little change. Horses are bred with much the same criteria as in the past. Selection is based on their physical capabilities, which include soundness, endurance, and the ability to regenerate quickly after a hard work out, as well as a calm, kind temperament.

In the earliest days, the test of a horse's quality was war, which was later replaced by hard, long distance rides and swims in fast, strong rivers, where those unable to cross the difficult current were left to drown.

In modern days, the test has come on the race course. Most Polish horses go to the track in Warsaw in their three-year-old year to pursue a career on the turf. The breeder's object is not necessarily to win races, but to examine a horse's ability to carry weight over distance with speed, plus soundness and capacity for quick recovery. Those who pass the tests are retained for breeding on the stud farms. Others are sold.

For most of the last two to three decades, the Poles have hosted an annual auction, the only time during the year that horses are sold for export. Held in early fall, the sale is publicized worldwide and conducted the day after the Polish National Horse Show. The events are managed by Animex, the animal export agency of the Polish government and take place at Janow Podlaski Stud Farm, which is in the eastern part of the country over the border of the former Soviet Union. Most of the horses for sale are broodmares. Usually one or two of the stallions are offered, and some young stallions, just off the track or fresh from a season or two at stud, are available for purchase in a "silent" auction.

Other than importations by General Dickinson and Mr. Babson in the 1930's, Americans did not acquire Arabians from Poland until the late fifties and early sixies.

-Julie Christensen, Exchange Publishing